How Amazon Wins Consumer Trust

People, places, and things — that’s what makes a noun. A noun and pronoun if there ever was one: Amazon.

The online marketplace has more than 310 million active users worldwide, with over 600 million products for purchase, according to Amazon solution provider AMZScout.

What makes Amazon such a hub for activity is the notion of consumer trust, namely built and maintained by consistent and compelling product experiences.

According to Salsify’s “2024 Consumer Research” report, a survey of 2,700 respondents in the U.S. and U.K. across generation groups, 65% of shoppers noted online marketplaces like Amazon as their primary place to buy new products.

Why do so many turn to the bookseller-turned-behemoth for their shopping needs? What goes into Amazon's way of winning consumer trust? Explore stats and tips on how your brand can replicate a trustworthy experience. 

Amazon’s Consumer Trust By the Numbers

Amazon’s smiling cardboard boxes make their way into homes across the globe each day. Some consumers (4%) are even keen to chat with Amazon’s Alexa to make voice purchases, per Salsify consumer research, and 47% of shoppers use online marketplaces like Amazon to discover new products and brands.

Before they buy, 47% of shoppers research products on online marketplaces like Amazon, likely exploring enhanced content (aka A+ content) such as detailed specs, Q&As, videos, and customer reviews. Perusing reviews is a popular — and persuasive — enough activity for shoppers that phony reviews have even been popping up, motivating Amazon to instate stricter policies to combat them.

But people still trust Amazon for more than just purchases: According to data from the Center for Growth and Opportunity, a little over a quarter (26%) of voting Americans trust the federal government with their data, while almost half trust Google (42%) and Amazon (46%) with their data.

How do they win this trust and attention?

Amazon Offers Trust-Winning Product Experiences

The Amazon product detail page (PDP) from the backend is nothing short of complex — a lot goes into every product’s story. To the savvy consumer on the front end, it’s simple, it’s compelling reading material, it’s maybe even art.

Beyond compelling PDPs, what else goes into trust-winning product experiences? Budget-friendly options and promotions and additional customer-first services, like free shipping.

3 Factors That Build Consumer Trust

Explore more about why these three factors build consumer trust on Amazon.

1. High-Quality PDPs

Trust-winning product experiences start with these compelling PDPs. When deciding to make a purchase, 78% of shoppers found product images and product descriptions “extremely” or “very” important, according to Salsify research.

High-quality PDPs like those on Amazon have:

• A variety of visuals, like high-quality images, carousels, graphics, and videos;
• Product descriptions, including bullet points that highlight main features;
• Easily digestible product specs like size and color, often written in product titles; and
• Social proof through customer reviews, including user-generated content (UGC).

For brands selling on Amazon, following further Amazon product page best practices can only improve your search rank and sweeten deals for everyone involved. 

2. Budget-Friendly Options

The only thing more compelling to shoppers making a purchase is pricing and discounts (79%) per Salsify research, of which Amazon is close to king, offering smashingly successful sales events like Amazon Prime Day. A commitment to budgeting is also on-trend, as 39% of Salsify survey respondents increased their focus on budget-friendly options in 2023.

Shoppers will also remain loyal to a brand if they perceive product quality (73%) and value for money (52%).

3. Free Shipping and Easy Returns

Beyond the sale, 80% of shoppers turn to Amazon for its fast, free shipping options and easy returns (44%) per AMZScout, further upping customer satisfaction potential. And 49% of consumers will remain loyal to a brand if they have a positive customer experience, per Salsify research.

How Your Brand Can Win Consumer Trust

Your brand doesn’t have to be as big as Amazon to win big at consumer trust. 

Brands can build trustworthiness by:

• Providing consistent, complete product content on high-traffic touch points like Amazon;
• Being mindful of shoppers’ budgets and tailoring offers to their preferences; and
• Committing to customer service perks like fast shipping and easy returns to perpetuate good reviews and retention.

Even more, variables go into whether a shopper picks you beyond those listed here — your content being search engine optimize (SEO)-d, to name one.

There’s also incredible value in boosting your social proof and encouraging UGC with your products on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Consumer Trust Compounds

Unlike Amazon, your brand may not be able to be all things to all people. What it can do is win consumer trust by providing consistent product experiences, enact healthy policies for retention, and let it all compound.